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Xzibit EXPOSES the Truth About Hip-Hop, #ConorMcGregor, #DrDe & His Biggest Regret! đ„
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Mar 18, 2025
đ„ Xzibit is BACK! In this interview, Mr. X to the Z talks about his long-awaited return to music, why he teamed up with Conor McGregorâs Greenback Records, and how he navigates the ever-changing Hip-Hop industry. He also shares untold stories about Dr. Dre, "Up in Smoke," The Tunnel, and the secrets behind his new album "Kingmaker." đ€ From his Loud Records days to working with Snoop Dogg, Tha Liks, and Aftermath, Xzibit keeps it đŻ about industry politics, fake rappers, and why he refuses to follow trends. Plus, he drops gems about his struggles, success, and what Hip-Hop is missing today. đŹ Drop a comment! Like & subscribe for more legendary interviews! đ„đ„ #Xzibit #HipHop #ConorMcGregor #DrDre #Rap #Kingmaker #AllHipHop #ExclusiveInterview đ Subscribe to AllHipHop on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/allhiphoptv?sub_confirmation=1 Check out more of AHH here on social media: https://allhiphop.com https://twitter.com/allhiphopcom https://facebook.com/allhiphopcom https://instagram.com/allhiphopcom Executive Producers: âGrouchyâ Greg Watkins and Chuck âJigsawâ Creekmur AllHipHop.com, a powerhouse in the Hip-Hop world, was established and brought to life in 1998 by the visionary CEOs "Grouchy" Greg Watkins and Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur. Over the years, AllHipHop has solidified its position as an invaluable hub for all things Hip-Hop on the web. With its daily dose of news, exclusive interviews, in-depth reviews, multimedia content, a newly-minted expanding community, and a treasure trove of other engaging material, it has garnered immense praise and a dedicated following.
View Video Transcript
0:08
what up y'all it's Mr X to the Z exhibit and we are rocking in New York City it's the key maker sessions on allhiphop.com
0:15
peace what's going on world it's your man Chuck Creek AKA jsaw yes yes one world studios here with my man DJ
0:22
thorough AKA thoro brid to the streets and we are here with a special special guest it's been a long time no pun
0:29
intended yeah Mr X to the Z exhibit up man what's good with good man good yo
0:34
thank you for pulling up man no thank you for having me man long time long time knowing you guys long time you know
0:41
coming on the site and seeing the site grow thank you know um and following you guys you know we family you know
0:47
definitely definitely man first of all man I just want to congratulate you on the work you put in in 2024 2024 was an
0:55
epic year for hip-hop period hands down it wasn't a lot that could get through
1:01
the Kendrick Drake stuff some of the the DOI and some of the other things going on but you managed to make a huge
1:07
impression last year with just a few songs not even an album yeah yeah um I
1:13
think um when it was time to finish the record and then we decided to start rolling it out um I felt like I needed
1:22
to um intro reintroduce myself to making music again to the fans to you know the
1:29
people who have been following me the people who didn't really know I did music you know what I'm saying so yeah
1:35
yeah so so so uh when we did play this at my funeral uh that's actually the
1:40
first song on the on the new album The the whole album King maker and so I feel like as an intro State of the Union it
1:47
was fitting to to roll that out and it worked you know um a lot of people were glad to hear me back and it was kind of
1:54
it was good it's it's a song that's kind of um unor un unorthodox because it
2:00
doesn't have hooks right you know it's just straight bars all the way through and uh I think that's what I want to
2:05
bring back to you know my my my entrance into the music yeah now do you really do
2:10
you literally want people to play that song at your funeral maybe you know what I'm saying like yeah yeah depends it
2:16
depends on when that happens all right it was a dope video
2:22
too man like that was a part of the roll out the video was um high quality you
2:27
know you couldn't you had you could look at it you know what I'm saying like some videos I don't even pay attention to
2:34
like all right cool but the the video production matched up with the the audio production the bars everything just
2:41
worked perfectly um now I know you have a new label situation can you talk a little bit about that how that came
2:46
about yeah man um we are putting this out through green back records it's a new ventured um uh you know founded by
2:54
Conor McGregor Conor McGregor has his hands and all kinds of stuff um but he
3:00
really loves music and when we were finishing the record I was like well how we going to distribute it I looked at a
3:05
lot of things that were happening I looked at the majors I looked at The Independents I looked at you know um the
3:11
different rout routes that people are are are are doing you know with um you know I see I'm a big fan of L Russell L
3:17
Russell is doing his his thing um I saw the way he's doing it but uh uh yeah we
3:23
uh we good over there yeah yeah so
3:30
so so then when it happened um you know Bobby D Bobby D brought this opportunity
3:35
who's my management okay um uh he uh he brought this opportunity to work with
3:41
Conor McGregor and so I was I was kind of skeptical but then I sat down with his team um and saw the vision behind
3:47
the label uh saw what they're doing and the beauty about putting this out through green back records is that
3:53
there's no level of expectation right there everything we do is a first um so
3:59
being a first artist out through there I'm kind of Paving away and it feels good to be able to kind of do it my way
4:04
yeah um and and the people are not getting in my way creatively and there's no jaded kind of polit you know record
4:12
politics that they got to deal with or anything to compare it to so it feels good to be able to to be a Trailblazer
4:18
in that in that sense you know yeah have have you been a fan of his as an MMA fighter or were you following his career
4:24
in that way I mean of course I mean who doesn't know Conor McGregor but you know um you know as far as following him on
4:30
like that kind of thing no um the fact that he wanted to do this type of music and you know not only just hip-hop it
4:37
has other type of genres on the label but to be able to you know see his vision hear him you know we went out to
4:44
uh Marb Spain to meet him um and it was like a bare knuckle boxing event that my
4:49
first time meeting him in person okay and so yeah I mean he's he's really behind it you know it's not like he just
4:55
slapping his name on a product and then going on about his business so um yeah man I I I think it's going to be good I
5:01
think it's going to I think it's going to be good because um uh we're we're
5:06
going to be able to balance our worlds together you know because it's an odd couple you know what I'm saying it's an
5:12
odd thing but I like that you know what I'm saying I like it yeah it's different it's good seeing the ability for him to bring like
5:20
a more mainstream audience to you as well does that mean anything to you because I mean a lot of in Independent
5:27
Artists kind of suffer they get they get swallowed up in the in the grind of the
5:33
digital era or the lack of outlets there's no MTV or bet like it used to be
5:39
at least um does it help in a a more mainstream way but you bringing your thing to the table so there's no
5:46
compromise I don't see it if there is yeah no I I think the the the attraction of being able to work with Conor
5:52
McGregor and Greenback is that um he is he is shooting over people
5:59
heads mhm he's a fighter I'm a fighter yeah you know what I'm saying um in my own sense and uh I I've always been the
6:07
underdog and I think the audience is is going to be what it is I mean some
6:13
people love him love him or hate him he's still gonna be Conor McGregor Love Me Or Hate Me I'm still GNA be me and I
6:19
think it's dope to be to be able to um use his megaphone you know he's promoting these records like he's
6:26
promoting the fight you know what I'm saying I love it you know what I'm saying uh I love that man I love being
6:31
able to do something that's not in the books that hasn't been done before and I don't want to get caught up in a
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politics of of trying to you know you know I I I just not good at kissing ass
6:42
you know what I'm saying and so there's a lot of there's a lot of you know ass kissing and handh holding in hip-hop and
6:48
if you don't play the game then you don't get in certain rooms or doors certain doors don't open we passed all
6:53
of that you know what I'm saying like we get to be able to go Front Street and we don't have to you know ask nobody for
6:59
permission to here boom there it is right now it's been 2010 since your last project 2012 2012 so with that being
7:07
said do you have to be inspired to put out a project because that's a lot of time to go by why has it been so long since you dropped music well I mean i'
7:13
I've I've been doing other things uh you know film television projects I was on
7:18
Empire for like three years I was you know I was you know opening different businesses in California right um and I
7:25
have to be inspired to do music right I just don't want to be out there to be out there you know I feel like and and
7:31
it took me a long time to figure out what I want to say you know what I'm saying like I could do a whole bunch of
7:37
guns slinging raps and whole you know like yeah yeah yeah talk just talking yeah yeah but I don't think the
7:43
game needs that now uh I think uh I think there's a lot of you know you
7:49
could sit back and be you know disgruntled about the state of hip hop right and you know you know especially
7:55
from from our era from our graduating class right or you do something about it
8:00
I think that you know it's like put up or shut up time right there's a lot of mindless music out there's a lot of uh
8:06
filler out and and I think the message you know and there's nothing wrong with that cuz even when we were first putting
8:11
records out it was like fluff music out too right but I think the issue is you know like uh this the the the senior
8:20
voices the people who' been through this the people are who have already traveled the path that these new artists are
8:26
trying to go um are not getting the information that they need in order to feel confident about being original and
8:33
being different you know what I'm saying I got you so like the piggyback over what you're saying like when we was coming up you you you had a choice you
8:39
know what I mean it was it was it was proportionately even like you had you had soft rap but then you had like I can listen to Ice Cube but then I can listen
8:46
to tric Quest correct I listen to the alcoholics but then I can listen to De La Soul now everybody's on the same
8:52
level in terms of the mainstream music or whatever so I think a lot of people feel that they got to do that can't be themselves be original or represent
8:58
where they I think people are chasing the success right and not chasing the
9:04
creative you know elevation right um I think I think the diversity of what the
9:11
voices were and the messaging was in Hip Hop has changed dramatically um
9:17
everybody wants to to to have this this super roller coaster ride to success and
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the oh hey look at me contest you know what I'm saying like like I just I've just never been that guy but you know I
9:28
pride s on on on loving the music right not loving the success if the money
9:34
comes right if you if that's what you here for then you know put something in the game that doesn't exist and the
9:40
money will come you know but but if you just if you just doing whatever and however and the Antics are more are
9:46
bigger than your music then I don't know if I don't know if if hip-hop needs to be turned into like the the World
9:52
Wrestling Federation you know what I'm saying yeah I I don't need I don't know if that needs to happen right and then
9:58
you um spoke about doing other things like your businesses you want to speak on your um involvement with the Cannabis business because you've been very
10:04
successful with that you know I think you open up a dispensary or you have things like that going on on I started
10:10
with some Brands the brands were the brands were were fire you know I got the experience from there um and Retail um
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was the the natural next step I ended up um partnering with a group of guys that
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um really know what they're doing and so my marketing branding you know I was like you know instead of selling one
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brand let's just sell everybody's stuff you know what I'm saying right so we got two stores um currently in La West
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exhibits West Coast cannabis okay you know um yeah yeah right yeah we got the
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first store in belir um and the second store is in uh chatworth nice yeah nice
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you said that properly torth
10:54
anything right right right right no that's dope do you know
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um when you talk about how do I say this without being disrespectful but I feel
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like it it was a shift last year I feel like you know not to bring up Kendrick and Drake because you know it's a dead
11:10
horse in a way but at the same time I feel like it was a a cultureal war it
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was um ideologies clashing you know what I'm saying and Unapologetic you you said
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that word and I think you did but unapology being unap apologetically
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it's something that I don't think enough people stand on or being like yeah I'm
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going sit this out for a few years or I don't really have nothing to say right now let me just relax and just enjoy the
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ride um how how hard is it for you to do that um and also on the same tip you
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like I love how you put messages in the music this just just it's not corny it's not you said y'all need to read some
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books and I I love that line bro cuz I got a stack of books by my nightstand I
12:00
ain't reading every one of them at the same time but I got them on in the queue yeah um I know that's like three
12:07
questions in one but it's dope seeing a mature but not corny not preachy dude
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rapping Stu well we're the first we're the first we're the first generation of you know well hip hop is only 50 years
12:20
old yeah facts so we we're the first like we there's nothing before us to
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compare it to yeah so now you got to go back part of that question is you know
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hip hop is the only thing that has agism right yeah GL just speaking on and and so so you know you don't hear that in
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country you don't hear that in R&B you don't hear that you know the rock and roll the Rolling Stones are still touring to this day um but for some
12:46
reason in Hip Hop if you you know live past you know 25 then [Â __Â ] you a old head
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you know what I'm saying and I'm like yo you know I think it's I think uh first
12:58
of all nobody owns hip-hop M nobody tells you when to start nobody tells you when to stop yeah right as long as I
13:06
have the inspiration to make music I'm going to make it right now now you can try to compare it or tear it down or do
13:13
whatever you want to do compare it to oh well he didn't sell like this guy you know what I'm saying or you know but but
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you know we living in an age where things can be manufactured things can be altered things you know perception is
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King and so I feel like me putting out music right now is because I have
13:31
something to say right I don't know if this going to be my last album my second to last I don't know what what it is but
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I'm going to be the one to figure out when that time is is to transition into something else right um but for right
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now I love I love the music I still love it yeah I still love creating it I still love being able to come up with
13:51
something and push myself harder you know what I'm saying I feel like you know my music now is more coherent and
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more uh and and and and better in my opinion than the records that I put out
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before you know um and but it's not about see I run my my race my own way
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and I'm not here to you know compare My Success to somebody else's and figure out oh well you know I'm not you know
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selling bazillion records so maybe I shouldn't do this it's not that's not the goal right my goal is to put
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something on the table that defines my journey and defines my character yeah right and so that's what it's about man
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I think I think you know um being able to put messages in my music that and that's why I call the album kingmaker I
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called it kingmaker because it's a transfer of information it's not about it's not about you know being
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putting on a crown or sitting you know I'm the king or no it's nothing that um these are the ideologies these are the
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the the charact characteristics these are the habits these are the things that have made me successful good bad or
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indifferent these are the things that made me get out of the situation that I
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started from from which was very dire to be a global brand and people you know
15:04
you know from 8 to 80 know exhibit whether they know me from music whether they know me from Pimp My Ride whether
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they know me from movies whe they know me and it could have been so different you know what I'm saying so I'm proud of
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that you know what I'm saying and and and and so now um that's why I put these things into the music because I think
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going back to what we was talking about earlier everybody's chasing this this success thing and they think that you
15:29
know success is you know being rich or being you know yeah yeah yeah or having
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a bunch of chains on or you know what I'm saying or having a certain car or you know um or having a bunch of a bunch
15:42
of women or a bunch of [Â __Â ] and you know like it's different you know you there there's people that go through
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that phase I had that phase you know what I'm saying I used to roll with you know a thousand people and yeah yeah and everybody's you know but you know
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lawsuits is a mother you know what and it usually be the people around
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you that get you in the lawsuit yeah yeah not even yeah so so you live and learn but at the end of the day um it's
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an expression hip-hop is my expression yeah you know some people paint some people write but hip-hop saved my life
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right and so that's why that's why I feel like I owe my fans this this this album yeah you know I I I didn't I I
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couldn't leave my legacy where it was right I had
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to come back and say like hey guys this where I'm at now right right do you did
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did was there one thing was there a thing that that that got you back to being inspired and if if there was what
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was it um it was a couple things I was kind of stagnant for a while I wasn't really doing nothing and then um you
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know I went and I was coming back from Empire uh I was I just wrapped I was
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done and I called the first person I called was tato t t uh Dante kid AKA T
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um uh I made the first call to him and I met with him and and he was you know he was doing T TV and I was like listen um
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what do you think about you know working with me managing you know what I'm saying like let's let's put something
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together I saw because I saw what he was doing with game game you know uh you know by far one of our greats out in the
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west and and tat every time I saw him he was very professional he was very you know cuz I was starting from zero right
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so I went and and we sat out and he said you know let's go do this um and we started there you know and then I just
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and then we started like getting on the road then I started making music and then from there it was just like you
17:39
know one thing after another after another I started and I started and stopped this album maybe like five
17:47
times I I started the album and then I was like it's not it yeah then then we
17:53
you got a couple songs there's only one song on the album that made it from the first batch of Records really one what
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song is that I'm not going to tell you that okay yeah I'll let you when you hear the
18:05
whole thing I'm let be it was this one but then but then um so the last
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time the last time T brought in this guy called Duke with producer big Duke and
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he brought this engineer Called Quest and then but the energy between us three
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it just sparked something that just all them records started just flowing okay so everything that you hear on Keem maker now was done within the last you
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know eight six to eight months you know what I'm saying except one okay yeah and it was like yo the energy
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F felt right it was like the things that were happening and then it just started happen like people start piling on
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piling on piling on and then that's what we that's where we are now so it was a process to get here but I didn't want to
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put it out until it was ready yeah now you came from the legendary umbrella
18:54
loud records you came about loud records like I want to go back to your history um
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who had M deang
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Ray president yeah Funk Flex legendary class and a lot of those
19:12
records were like each one of those artists put at least a classic song If not a did you say alcoholics alcoholics
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abely come on shout out to Tash 36 mafia was I mean that that whole umbrella was
19:27
crazy that was legendary how did you even get signed like how did that happen um through the alcoholics
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through the alcoholics yeah yeah yeah there was a East Coast office of West Coast office okay right East Coast office is always get on the west coast
19:41
office not right so we were the stepchildren and
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and then we would get field trips to the east coast office wow look at all look at all this stuff in here you know what
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I'm saying but it was dope man I'm just like you know like um you know uh um I I
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never made a a demo I never made a mixtape I I only got featured on Dam
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which was one of the alcoholic singles and I just did the word damn I didn't rap or nothing you know what I'm saying
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okay and then the first feature I had was on King T's fourth album king T for Life For Life uh and it was a song
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called freestyle ghetto and that was like my first time hearing myself on the radio or something whatever king T right
20:25
and then um so king T gave both all of us our first start he said he created
20:30
the alcoholics and then he saw something in me that kind of like he wanted to bring me on and keep going and so that
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was my first feature and from there Steve was like I want to sign you you want to sign you right wow and so I got
20:43
signed um in 95 and then as soon as I got my budget
20:49
open and I went to the studio the first song I ever recorded was paparazzi paparazzi that was your first record
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first as soon as the lights came on and the board came up sometimes the first that was the first that was the first
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song I ever recorded wow wow I didn't know that I didn't know that was the first song you ever recorded that's
21:05
crazy that was a single yeah that was a single that's crazy yeah yeah but I mean I was I didn't know I didn't know I
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thought I knew what I what I wanted to say but but you know for hip hop that was my that
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was my my my intention here's my intention right right here's what I want to bring to hip-hop here's how I feel
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about hip-hop and I what that song is about you know what I'm saying right so because we were like super
21:33
backpacked super backpacked like like I we walk around with notepads in our backpacks like it was like and then we
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walk up to people that just would dressed like us be like hey you rhyme you know say you want you you you you
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know what I'm saying like what's up you know what say like ciphers everywhere that we come from that you know what I'm
21:52
saying like yeah how how is that you know the West Coast at at that time was really known for gunk Dr Dre's movement
21:59
and and before you know NWA etc etc but then you guys came out along you know Souls of Mischief was kind of in the
22:06
same you know vein Far Side just bars Far Side yeah yeah and um I would imag
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well let me not say what it was but you know it feels like you guys were going against the graen you weren't really
22:22
East Coast but you know it was very much respected on the East Coast I think I think uh you hit it on the head because
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it was uh it was right after the death row era right after the G Funk era um
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and we loving the hip-hop because we used to we used to have you know this club
22:40
called unity and bigger be rest in peace uh he worked in the the LA office and he
22:46
had a club that you know would promote with Orlando and he would bring artists
22:51
out that was first time we see Old Dirty Bastard Wu Tang uh the first time we saw
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um you know uh uh anybody from anybody from anywhere else would come and perform at that club right so the Hop
23:04
was where we was at and so you you the artist that came out of that club Will I
23:09
Am um you know Planet Asia um um uh it was the alcoholics it was you know it
23:15
was uh uh crooked eye it was Ras cats it you know what I'm saying like like we
23:20
all came out of this same place and so to be able to
23:27
um like I guess we had to coin Our Own Lane right so they used to call us backpack
23:33
rappers or whatever but but we started calling ourselves West Coast Lyricist because now when we start selling
23:39
records people didn't know what to call us cuz it wasn't this and it wasn't that so you know we became West Coast
23:45
Lyricist and that was that our lane you know what I'm saying and that's why our family treat came from what M did you
23:50
into that lane like before you started rapping who were you listening to like oh man I listen to I listen to um Man
23:57
Poor right teachers yeah yeah I listen to rock Kim Big Daddy Kane um I listen to um uh you
24:07
know uh I I listen to everything man down south you know what I'm saying DJ
24:13
Magic Mike uh Poison Clan magic you know what I'm saying yeah yeah come on man
24:19
like I would I was a Cypress Hill I would listen to everything you know and of course the Staples that listen to Ice
24:24
Cube inwa and all that but I would I would go deep dive you know what I'm saying like I would listen to Paris you
24:29
know what I'm saying yeah deep dive you know what I'm
24:35
saying and and so I was a fan of the culture and I I was a fan of the uh I always could appreciate because I read a
24:42
lot of books as well I always I always could appreciate somebody who could put something together that was clever and
24:49
it had you know double un andras or or you they they speaking something with some intelligence you can tell you know
24:55
not just sticking in the five word category you know what I'm saying that's a fact yeah and so yeah I was a big fan
25:00
of that right so I would listen to everything that came out and um you know and so when I started writing my own
25:07
raps um that's what I was attracted to I wanted to emulate that I wanted to stay in that lane you know it wasn't about
25:15
you know uh it wasn't about I want to write the toughest raps in the world I was like I want to write the the the the
25:22
Rhymes that I'm attracted to you know what I'm saying and that was with cleverness with metaphors
25:28
with understanding the meaning of words and being able to paint a picture that like oh unique you know what I'm saying
25:35
yeah did just got so much to talk about here yeah yeah um shoot uh west west
25:42
coast know you you you evolved into getting down with Dre um
25:49
aftermath um the sound changed a little bit you know what I mean but the
25:54
aggression and the style of your lyricism didn't necessarily Chang but it felt like you were part of a rebirth
26:01
even of your own career it seemed like I mean I you weren't signed to them but
26:06
you were down with them how did that impact your career at all uh that being
26:12
involved first of all [Â __Â ] please was the first thing my first interaction working with with Dre Snoop all those
26:20
guys right um and then my work ethic allowed me to be um invited back to do
26:28
okay right and there was a there was a point where Jimmy and Dre went and tried
26:35
to sign me okay and and uh God bless him Steve riffkin he uh he he uh he said
26:43
exhibits my son ex exhib exhibit is like my son I I you know we started together
26:48
we're going to finish together yeah all right how' you feel how you feel list
26:56
listen it's better now I'm better now I'm better now I'm better now yeah but
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um it didn't happen okay and and so you know at the time I knew you know I was
27:08
like a this would have completed the cycle but you know I was able to work
27:13
with with the with with them in a capacity that it was beneficial to both of us right and so being still you know
27:21
being on loud be and then transitioning over to Sony Colombia because they Transit they they bought loud right
27:27
right and they uh and and being able to put records out with you know Dr Dre Executive produced on it which has not
27:34
happened for anyone else outside that camp you know it it's it made a big statement regardless that Dr Dre would
27:42
executive produce my albums even if I'm on Sony and he hasn't done and it's it's not owned by Inner scope so um would I
27:50
have loved to been on aftermath yes I think that was that would have been a different type of battery in my back
27:57
right right but but but the influence and the records that we did make had a
28:04
tremendous impact on my life yeah right and so I will always be grateful for that opportunity I was always I will
28:10
always you know um be grateful to Dr Dre for allowing me to come and be in that
28:15
Circle and I mean like up and smoke I mean arguably one of the biggest tours
28:21
you know still to this day uh not the size of it but just the magnitude of the artists that were on it and and the
28:27
things that we were able to do with that record 2001 um it was amazing and the rest Restless yeah that and speaking of
28:35
2001 The Chronic bunch of La yeah yeah what was that session like do you that because now everybody emails everybody's
28:42
in the studio together where you guys like actually in the studio rocking out how did that how you remember how that worked yeah the thing uh some La you
28:50
talking about okay so Dre Dre put the beat up and it had the it had the 13th
28:55
note in it the 13th note is silence
29:01
[Music] so that so he calls that you learned something the 13th note he called that
29:07
the 13th note because from the age of for for thousands of years there's only been 12 notes in music right so the 13th
29:13
note is silence and if you can perfect that then it be it does something strange to the music right right so he
29:19
wanted everybody to stay in that pocket but he also wanted everybody to start their rhyme off with a classic West
29:25
Coast hip-hop song right so I did M volunteers I was raised in a hood called
29:30
what the death you know what I'm saying so so I remember there was specific things that
29:37
he wanted to have every MC do right okay and so um yeah we was in there and then
29:43
uh he was and he was like hey man you know uh I need another MC in here so I called the faride that's why the Farid
29:49
is on the song right and so um it was it was really dope to be able to now
29:56
instead of you know him directing the ship you know what I'm saying like like he's allowing us to come in there and
30:02
he's asking my creative opinion which hadn't happened before you know what I'm saying and I was like oh good he trusted
30:10
my he trust my ear dope yeah so so we we built a really dope relationship and you know um that
30:17
that that's my brother outside of music and you know we talk a lot and you know it is what it is man like it's good
30:24
speaking of Brothers um I just want to take a minute to shout out um Safir you
30:29
know what I mean rest in peace yeah and you you you dropped his name in the song peace to rest and Safir and that and
30:35
then he passed after that and that that stung everybody man I mean he was an amazing artist and you guys wrode hard
30:43
and I always you know this funny man three car mly I I listen to that every like week you know at least once a
30:50
week but yeah I just wanted you know just shout him out man yeah man Safir um
30:55
Safir B man big Reggie um uh you know the the Golden State project
31:03
was um was the the super group of the time for us you know we had you know
31:10
rasc Elite MC Safir Elite MC I was I was wanted to pull something
31:16
together because I've always wanted to be in a group right I always wanted to be in a group and every time I get in a
31:22
group fall apart like OS EOS or whatever for whatever reason you know what I'm
31:29
saying but I it wasn't never ego you know what I'm saying like like I I'm I'm I consider myself pretty easy to get
31:34
along with and you know Ras is dope I think we all had different type of styles because you know when we were
31:40
when we were young um just starting out uh everybody had their own thought of
31:47
how we GNA get there right right you know and so not everybody jailed
31:53
together everybody was like well I don't know about you but I'm out of here you know what I'm saying and so everybody was trying their way
31:58
but for some reason me Rass and sair got together and even though our styles were completely different when we got on the
32:05
track together it worked right and so you know when we did three car mly I was
32:10
like yo let's do some let's and then plastic surgery actually was the first one got plastic surgery turned into
32:16
three carale and then three carale turned into let's do a group right and so I was like okay cool man but you know
32:23
it didn't come it didn't come to fruition but I love the first time I heard sair
32:28
uh it was a song called battle Trio okay and and and the way he floated over that
32:34
was something I never heard before right so um Box Car sessions is where that album that is what that that song is on
32:41
that album and when I heard battle drill I was like I got to meet this guy I was I had on a cassette tape and I was in
32:48
Detroit when I heard it I was with my uncles I was like listen to this you know what I'm saying I was like
32:54
don't and so when I met him I was like yo you know big fan he was like you know
32:59
and then what I metant he was nothing like I imagin imagine him to be you know what I'm saying what was that yeah I I
33:06
thought he was like me you know what saying like backpack all he wanted to do was rap like that think does not give a
33:11
about rap you know what I'm saying like wow like like but now you know they
33:17
big SAU you know you know what I'm saying like know he was like he was his Spirit was different he's like West West
33:24
Oakland you know what I'm saying right and and he was to the to the core yeah
33:29
and Oakland a different you know what I'm saying like like everybody think West Coast is La but no it go all the
33:35
way way up you know what I'm saying up to Canada yeah and so so Safir was a he carried that it was in his Spirit his
33:42
Aura and uh we loved him man yo I want to take the time I I I want to give this
33:47
man his flowers cuz he never abandoned his identity what what I mean about that
33:52
your new single shut your mouth right yeah yeah you got Battlecat yes you see the you see the visuals
33:58
you know where he's from before you even hit a record if you if you put the video on mute that's West Coast he never you
34:04
never never abandon your identity I see so many I see so many artists from my era every they you like you from where
34:10
why you rhyming like that why you talking like that that's not your that's not your culture thank you so I'm going to commend you on that thank you brother
34:17
now was that is that conscious that that's just who you are like do you ever feel the need to venture out and maybe
34:22
doing something that's not West Coast sounding or just who you are you that's indicative to who you are I think I
34:28
think um it's that's a that's a good question but I think that no matter what I do cuz
34:34
I've done rock songs I've Done songs with with you know Lincoln Park I've Done songs with you know um Within
34:41
Temptation which is like a Gothic rock band you know what I'm saying like I've done other things but I've always
34:46
brought where I'm from to it to it you right to your world yeah I mean once you
34:53
once you get on in the west you're on you know what I'm saying and I think
34:59
I don't want to go anywhere else I don't want to do anything else you know what I'm saying I want to coexist with other artists I want to coexist with other
35:05
sounds but I'm always going to have a w I'm saying like a like a Superman cape you know what I'm saying like like you
35:12
change we we can go into different environments but we bring that with us you know I I the West Coast has given me
35:19
a life and and a direction and purpose that I I will never disrespect or turn
35:25
my back I think when you do that it makes it to where you have to travel cuz I came up in the era when I was a kid I have I have cousins in Compton Athens
35:30
Park all that so when I go out there I'm I'm in a whole another culture so I don't want I don't want to go out there
35:37
and listening to what Y what what we're doing I I want to hear something different people come to New York when
35:42
we had the tunnel club like oh I love the tunnel right you're going to hear you just you went to the tunnel what
35:49
sorry what sorry my bad yo yo I went to the tunnel I went to the it was so
35:56
legendary when you come to New New York you got to you got to go to certain things right you got to go to The Concourse big snag snag took me to The
36:03
Concourse you know what I'm saying I would I would went up bouncing around the studios going to the tunnel was big
36:10
yeah right and so uh going going through the the metal detect detect and then going in and then everybody's packed
36:16
wall the wall and you know Flex come on at like 1 2 in the morning you know what I'm
36:21
saying it was dope to you know and then eventually um there's footage of this
36:27
somewh yeah that's footage yeah there a documentary on We performed at the tunnel it was like it was like Dre Snoop
36:35
us you know what I'm saying like it it was right before we went out on the upper Smoke tour and boy man it was it
36:42
it was like a full circle moment so I got some real I got some real like dope moments in in hip-hop in my life that
36:49
happened in New York you know what I'm saying now before we wrap I want to ask you as a man you know you've your some
36:57
of your ups and downs your personal trials and tribulations have played out
37:02
on social you know you you Shar news yeah yeah like a lot you like it's been
37:09
documented lot of which which yo by the way man I appreciate it right because
37:16
you know we talk about man things and personal things in the studio and then you see someone like yourself kind of
37:23
going through it working through it I said the same thing to red man we had an amazing 2hour interview processing
37:29
things as men we're this is the first time some of us don't have our fathers to lean on or anyone you know what I'm
37:36
saying so first of all I want to say thank you right because some of the stuff you was going through I was going
37:41
through at this like the same time um but for for the question is it's kind of
37:47
like how does that flow into the art how do you know how does that work in tandom with the art and and and your fan base
37:54
yeah uh thank God I had uh my father in my life you know um he passed away uh
38:01
but the the the things that he instilled in me are are concrete and solid and and
38:06
without resolve you know I I I know I can always rely on my my moral compass
38:12
that I got from him he was a military guy okay um and he was very um he was he
38:18
was strict in a way that he wanted me to have self- discipline you know um and
38:25
so the things that I go through in life I I try to do it with Grace I try to do it with class even you know you don't
38:31
have to answer everybody right every and and then you don't always have to be right but you know my job is not to
38:40
publicly defend myself against accusations that you know what I'm saying because I don't really do anyway you know what I'm saying like like the
38:46
things that people come at me about are you know usually Financial yeah right even when even when they they say they
38:53
coming at me about personal stuff it's about money you know what I'm saying and so um what I've learned to do is to uh
39:01
carry myself and let my character speak louder than my words yeah right um I
39:06
don't need to I don't I don't you know people have put things that aren't true about me all over you know the the
39:14
social media all over television all and people love to report bad news yeah even
39:19
when they wrong they don't like the correction is way quieter than the than the than the finger point yeah and so I
39:25
I know that about things you know what I'm saying say um um I don't think all all press is good press you know what
39:32
I'm saying but I also don't let that Define my actions and steps yeah um I think that having the kind of career
39:40
that I've had and been being able to um be here as long as I have and be able to
39:45
casually go into other genres without even you know missing a step and then coming back to things that I love um not
39:52
a lot of people can do that that's a gift you know and and so I let that speak louder than than than the
39:58
naysayers and here's another thing here's another thing um we always give
40:05
more attention to the people who don't love us than the people who do like if
40:12
you look at if you look your people on social media you know um you can have a thousand comments saying man you're
40:18
great man you're absolutely great I love you and then and then the one comment man you and you want to respond to that
40:26
right right you want to talk to you and you looking at his page like you
40:33
right taking it for granted y yo you ignored a thousand other people that you could have been
40:40
saying thank you to and then you would have like I I think um I think everybody not everybody's going to like you not
40:47
everybody's going to love you um love love who loves you yeah right and support who support you absolutely right
40:52
now before we go I got to do this being a car dude I got to do this got to do it please don't asked me to pimp your
40:58
[Laughter] right real quick 57 Impala 64 Impala you
41:05
can only drive one forever which one uh uh 57 all right um Hydraulics
41:13
airbags uh Hydraulics Hydraulics hard top rag rag all right that's
41:18
it X I want y I want to first of all I say thank you man we didn't get into
41:24
strong arm steady we didn't get we didn't get to talk about the serial killer we got to get into it next time but yo I just want to say man appreciate
41:31
you bro mean that you one of the illst thank you brother ever yeah man thank
41:37
you thank you man thank you shout out my guy Puerto Rico Ro in the building Chain by the
41:43
way I keep it old school man link I mean only Built for mean
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